PGA David O. Selznick Honoree Chris Meledandri Calls On Producers To 'Disrupt Our Own Norms' In Ever-Changing Film Industry
'Storytelling has never been more important,' Illumination founder and boss Chris Meledandri said Saturday night in receiving the David O. Selznick Achievement Award at the PGA Awards.
'We find ourselves now in a far more fragile moment. Our country, our city, our industry, are experiencing unprecedented disruption and uncertainty. We should not forget. That the health of a society is directly tied to its reigning narratives,' said the producer whose animated comedies have delighted global masses to the tune of $11 billion.
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Meledandri reflected on his early days in Hollywood as a runner working for producer Dan Melnick. The first day when Meledandri drove on the 20th Century Fox lot, he had an assigned parking space with his name on it. It was an early producing lesson for the young Meledandri that he would carry with him: 'Everybody matters.'
Well before he arrived in Hollywood, Meledandri had already been reared in cinema by his NYC parents on such pics like Easy Rider, and the canons of Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick and the Marx Brothers. Here in Hollywood on his way, he had chance encounters with Billy Wilder and watched Orson Welles eat lunch at Ma Maison.
'It took me to my 40s to find my stride,' said the blockbuster producer of Super Mario Bros Movie and the Despicable Me and Minions franchises.
At a time when the industry fears AI, Meledandri mentioned that when he was coming up in the business, 'Technology was empowering us, not threatening to replace us.'
Concluded Meledandri, 'As much as we might wish for it, no one is coming to save us. As producers, we are entrepreneurs. We must keep adapting to find ways to thrive no matter what. To do that, we have to disrupt our own norms. The comfort we feel staring in the rearview mirror is only an illusion. It's up to us now to build on our strengths, discover ways to keep our movies, our process, our budgets and our engagement with audiences searingly relevant.'
On that note, earlier in his speech, Meledandri gave thaks to Universal Motion Picture and TV boss Donna Langley, saying, 'At this moment in time, your unshakeable commitment to filmmakers and moviemaking has never been more vital.'
In what was arguably the funniest presentation for an honor tonight, Despicable Me star Steve Carell had the Fairmont Century Ballroom full of producers in stitches before Meledandri hit the mic, elbowing the room for being envious of Meledandri's honor.
'Why honor him and not you? Why am I here saying nice things about Chris and not you? Why do you think you deserve to be honored? What makes you so special? Why are you so bitter? Where do you get off?'
Asserted Carell, 'Chris Meledandri is getting honored tonight because he's better than you.'
Carell credited himself as the star of Despicable Me 1-33, and Minions 2,5,9 and Horton Hears a Who.
'Each time I work with Chris, he's not just a visionary storytelling, but one sexy hot ass bastard!' continued the Gru thespian. Carell quipped that Meledandri handles his personal appearances as Gru at birthday parties, in what the actor billed as a 'side hustle.'
'It's no simple task. Yes, he does deserve that applause. It's no simple task to create something that connects with an audience, [brings] joy and stands the test of time. It's something that Chris does effortlessly, but for you it's a slog,' said Carell.
The PGA's Selznick Award recognizes a producer for their outstanding body of work in motion pictures. Meledandri is the second animation producer to receive the honor after John Lassiter. Past recipients include Steven Spielberg, Barbara Broccoli, Mary Parent, Charles Roven, Brian Grazer, David Heyman, Kevin Feige and most recently Martin Scorsese.
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